Method for aligning and tying stacked bundles



N. J. SMITH METHOD FOR ALIGNING AND TYING STAGKED BUNDLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 3, 1965 Filed Nov. 12, 1963 Aug. 3, 1965 N. J. SMITH 3,

METHOD FOR ALIGNING AND TYING STACKED BUNDLES Filed Nov. 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A Qzzvewa 707/ Lia/722m @2722? $9 W, MM aid I WawmC fl 3, 1965 N. J. SMITH 3,198,105

METHOD FOR ALIGNING AND TYING STACKED BUNDLES Filed Nov. 12, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 3, 1965 N. J. SMITH 3,198,105

METHOD FOR ALIGNING AND TYING STACKED BUNDLES Filed Nov. 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a7707/7Zey4 United States Patent 3,198,105 METHGD FOR ALIGNING AND TYING STACKED BUNDLES Norman J. mith, Benton Harbor, Mich, assignor to Signode Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 322,736 Claims. (Cl. 1il03) The present invention relates to a method of handling stacks of generally uniform materials and, more particularly, to a method of forming and tying a consistent compact bundle.

The stacking and aligning of bundles of items such as newspapers or magazines has been primarily a manual task, even though there has been a long felt need for a fully automatic machine capable of performing this task. Some of the problems involved in the development of equipment came about because of the wide variety of sizes and thicknesses of bundles that the apparatus must be capable of handling.

Heretofore, the formation and tying of a bundle has been what one might refer to as a semi-automatic process. The bundle in question is formed by taking a stack of newspapers or magazines, or the like, placing them on a bottom wrapper, applying a top wrapper, and then positioning the package within a wire tying apparatus that is then operated to loop and tie a single strand of wire around the stack of papers. If the bundle was to be tied with more than one wire, the bundle was manually moved to a second position, after which the tying apparatus was again operated to secure the second wire in place. This procedure is very time consuming and results in severely limiting the number of bundles handled and tied by a single operator within a given period. In addition to the time problem, bundles formed in this way may not be completely uniform since the condition of the final bundle is completely dependent on the operator who may or may not be capable of forming a consistent bundle at all times. It can be appreciated that any machine to be successful would have to be capable of taking a stack of newspapers, or the like, and through a series of stations square up the newspapers along all four sides of the bundle and compress the bundle so that when it is tied it will be compact and not loosen during subsequent handling. In addition, the machine must be capable of accurately positioning the bundle so that there is suificient time to perform the necessary steps and to properly locate the bundle within the wire tier to facilitate accurate tying of the bundle.

In accordance with the present invention, a stack of papers is squared up along all four sides and compressed into a compact package that is automatically moved in a wire tier which is then started to tie the bundle. The tied bundle is then ejected from the machine and the machine is free to handle succeeding bundles in rapid sequence. Another advantage of this invention is that it can handle a wide variety of bundle sizes including bundles of different thicknesses in whatever order they are processed. The apparatus can be set to either tie a single strand of wire about the bundle, or move the bundle through a series of steps to tie a plurality of longitudinally spaced wires about the bundle. Furthermore, provision is made for providing a bottom wrapper to the bundle so that the operator in charge of processing the bundles is burdened with one less function to perform, which increases the number of bundles that can be put through the machine in any given period of time. It has been found that apparatuscapable of performing the method of this invention can handle more than twice as many bundles within a given time period than those processed by other manual and semi-automatic equipment now on the 3,198,195 Patented Aug. 3, 1965 market. All that is required is that the stack of papers to be formed into a constant bundle be placed in the entrance of the machine and the machine will do the rest. The operation of the various mechanisms is interrelated so that each step will take place at the desired time and all manual steps will be eliminated.

Numerous other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description and from the drawings in which each and every detail shown is included as a part of the specification, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a bundle aligning and tying apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic plan view of the mechanism that can be used to practice the method covered by this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view, in perspective, illustrating the various drive mechanisms for the entry section of the apparatus;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation showing the mechanism for compressing the bundle; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view showing some of the details of the exit section of the machine.

The apparatus shown in the drawings is an illustrative embodiment of a machine operative in accordance with the method of the present invention for forming a consistent bundle. The salient structural components of the machine are a pair of transversely spaced aligner plates 2, 4 that square up the sides of the bundle, a bottom wrapper assembly 6 that feeds a bottom wrapper into position beneath the longitudinally moving bundle, a pair of transversely spaced pusher unit paddle assemblies 8, 10 that act in conjunction with longitudinally spaced gate assemblies 12, 14 to align the front and rear ends of the bundle, a pneumatically operated compressor plate 16 that engages the top of the bundle to remove the air from between the adjacent newspapers and compress the same, bundle positioning roller assemblies 18, 29 that engage and move a bundle a predetermined distance, bundle clamps 22, 24 to hold securely the bundle during the tying cycle, a wire tying machine 26 that is operated at the desired time to wrap a wire around the bundle and knot the ends thereof to firmly hold the papers in place, and stop gates 27 or 29 against which the bundle is moved prior to the wire tying operation.

It should be understood that the method of the invention is not limited to the particular structural arrangement described, inasmuch as the method may be performed by other mechanisms compatible with performance of the method and capable of performing the necessary functions.

The mechanism as shown in the drawing may be functionally divided into a plurality of operating stations for eifecting the necessary steps to form a consistent bundle.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings and briefly referred to below is described in detail in my copending application Serial No. 393,887, filed September 2, 1964 entitled Machine for Tying Bundles.

The present machine is generally illustrated in FIG- URE 1 and the apparatus capable of practicing the present invention is shown in FIGURE 2 in schematic form, including the various stations where each of the steps of the method takes place. While these views give an excellent overall picture of the machine, the machine will be more readily understood by referring to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, which disclose in some detail various components of the machine.

Turning now to FIGURE 3, there is shown the entry section of the machine which includes a row of bristle brushes 28 that guide the bundle 30 onto a pair of transversely spaced conveyor sections 32, 34. When the bunle is placed on the conveyor sections 32, 34, it

engages a switch 36 that sets into motion a pneumatic apparatus (not shown) for oscillating the bundle side aligner plates 2, 4 into and out of engagement with the sides of the bundle.

The movement of the aligner plates 2, 4is controlled by a pair of switches 38, 40 which operate circuitry (not shown) to reverse the direction of movement of the pneumatic apparatus that controls the travel of the side plates. The bundle is moved forward on the conveyors 32, 34 that are positively driven by a motor '42 through a conventional mechanical drive arrangement. I

The bundle 30 on the conveyors 32,34 subsequently engages a safety aligner switch 44, the function of which is to retain the aligner plates 2, 4 against the bundle if abundle is located immediately downstream'thereof. If no bundle is so positioned, the switch 44 is ineffective and the bundle will continue' to move from conveyors 32, 34 over a row of bristle brushes 46 onto a pair of transversely spaced conveyor sections 48, 50 that are in alignment with conveyors 32, 34, respectively.

The bundle on the conveyors 48, 50 engages a bottom wrapper switch 52 which operates the bottom wrapper Cir assembly 6 illustrated in outline form 'at' the bottom of FIGURE 1.

54 which unwraps and severs a predetermined amount of Briefly, a positioning mechanism (not shown) controlled by switch 52 operates a feed drum paper'56 from 'roll 58 and directs the leading edge therer of up intoengagement with the forward bottom edge of the bundle. The bundle engages anddirects the severed section'of paper underneath the bundle to serve as a bottom wrapper. g

The bundle which is being continuously moved on the conveyor sections 48, 50 contacts a pusher switch 60 that sets into motion a one-revolution clutch 62 to rotate shaft 63 one completerrevolution and impart motion to V 'transverse shafts 64, 66 are rotated,,which rotates earns 68, 70 to bring them'into engagement with brake shoes 16 brings itinto engagement with the leading top edge "of the bundlev and furthermovement thereof compresses the bundle to expunge the air from between the adjacent papers of the bundle. 2 Furthermore, the action of the pad results in the bundle being sloped downwardly toward its leading edge, which during forward movement of the bundleresults, in the air acting to retain the'bundle in the compressed condition.

At the completion of the compressing step, a cylinder 82 is operated to open the gates 12, 14 through a pair of rack and pinion assemblies 84, 86 which translate the longitudinal movement of the cylinder rods 88, 90 to the gates 12, 14; When the gates are opened, a pair of gear segments 92, 94 are rotated to move transversely spaced bundle positioning rollers 96, 98-intoengagement with the sides of the bundle-which then starts to rotate the bundle is moved is determined by a feeder motor 104 through a suitable drive arrangement. In the embodiment shown, the feeder-motor 104 is controlled by a feeder.

flmotor start switch105 that is engaged when the gates are moved to the open position.

The movement of the rollers of the bundle positioning roller assemblies is further controlled by cams 106, 108 through suitable linkage designed 'to .move the bundle against stop gates 27, 29 to effect either a single tie or a double tie. The stop gates prevent the top papers from spilling off of the bundle; By this it is meant that if the single-tie cam is moved into operating position, the rollers will move an amount sufiicient to move the bundle through 72, 74 to move the shoes against the underside of-the I rollers of conveyor sections 48, 50. The rollers which 1 have heretofore been moved atsa speed determined by. motor 42 through a suitable drive arrangement to move the bundle 30 at a given rate will by virtue of the brake shoes increase the speed at which the bundle is moved. I

in a longitudinal directionas, for example, is shown in my aforementioned co-pendin'g application. The bundle will be moved at this increased speed againstgates 12,

14 longitudinally spaced from the pusher. paddles by a distance approximately equal to the length of the bundle.

The timing of the paddle movement and that of the conveyor sections 48,50 is'interrelated so that when the paddle assemblies have completed their single revolution, the bundle will have been moved against the gates 12, 14 and the impact of the paddle assemblies against therear of, the bundle will align the leading and trailing ends the wire tier 26 against the stop gates29 so that a strand of wire will be disposed about the mid section of the bundle. If the double-tie cam is moved into operating position, then the rollers will move the bundle a first increment to move the bundle through the wire tier against the stop gates 27 to direct the wire about the bundle approximately one third the distance from the leading end 'thereof'and will subsequently move the bundle, after the gates 27 are opened, to place a second tie about the buni dle approximatelyone' third from the other end of the bundle. g v

After the bundle is properly positioned relative to the wire tier, the timing of the. operation of the device is set 7 so that the bundle positioning roller assembles 100, 102

of the bundle. 'It is to be noted that whenthe bundle I V is positioned against the gates, the 'spring-like'resilient plates of the paddle assemblies are compressed together, which, as will be more fully describedin the method of operation, prevents the top papers. of the bundle from being left behind when the gates are opened and the.

bundle is moved forward.

When the bundle has been biased against the gates,

all four sides thereof .will have been aligned and there but remains the compressing of the bundle and subsequent movement and tying of the bundle to complete the method of operation covered by the present invention. When the bundle is positioned against the gates ,12, 14,

position.

it contacts a bundlefpositioning start switch 76 that acts to set into motion a pneumatic cylinder 78 that includes a rod portion connected to a compressor pad 16. The downward moveme'ntofthe compressor pad are moved out of engagement with the sides of the bundle by the operation of a cylinder 110 connected to each of the roller assemblies'jlt is to be noted that only that mechanism employed for moving the bundle positioning roller assembly 100. and bundle clamp 22. is illustrated.

This mechanismis duplicated on the other side of the machine.-The movement of'the cylinder 110 is translated through the cylinder rods 112 and rack and gear mechanisms 114 to bundle side clamps 22, 24. The mechanical interrelationship is such that when the bundle positioning assemblies are moved away from the sides of the bundle, the side clamps are moved into engagement with the sides of the bundle to retain the bundle in position during the wire tying operation. It remains to note that the'wire tier 26 which is disposed immediately adjacent the, bundle sideclamps is sequentially operated to direct a wire about the bundle after theside clamps are in When the tying is completed, and .a subsequent bundle is moved against the gates, the side clamps are released and the bundle is carried away fromvthemachine by a suitable conveyor. 7

' The stages of operation of the mechanism following the method of this invention may be understood most-conv'eniently referring to FIGUREZ and are as follows:

The machine is started and a stack or bundle of newspapers 30 is placed at the entrance of the machine, following which the conveyors 32, 34 move the bundle into position between the aligner plates 2, 4. The plates are then oscillated in and out against the sides of the bundle to align the edges of the newspapers in the bundle. The speed at which the bundle is moved through the machine is controlled by the rate at which the conveyors are operated.

The bundle is moved continuously along the conveyor until it reaches a second station where it engages a switch 52 to operate a bottom wrapper mechanism to direct the leading edge of a bottom wrapper into position to be engaged by the lower leading edge of the bundle whereupon subsequent movement of the bundle directs the bottom wrapper beneath the bundle. Further movement of the bundle brings about operation of a pair of transverse paddle assemblies 8, which in conjunction with increased movement of the bundle by the conveyor sections directs the bundle against a pair of transversely spaced gates 12, 14 to square up the leading and trailing edges of the newspapers in the bundles.

With the bundle in position against the gates 12, 14, the height of the bundle is reduced by a compressor plate pressed against the top leading edge of the bundle. The gates are then opened and the bundle is moved a predetermined distance into position within a wire tying mechanism. When the gates are opened and the bundle is moved forwardly, the top papers are prevented from spilling off the back end of the bundle by the resilient action of the paddle assemblies which have been partially compressed when biased against the rear end of the bundle. In addition, the downward slope of the leading portion of the bundle aids in retaining the bundle in the compressed condition during forward movement thereof. With the bundle disposed within the wire tier, the bundle is clamped and the wire tier is operated to direct a wire around a bundle to form a complete bundle. The bundle is longitudinally moved according to the number of wires that are to be disposed about the bundle.

It will be appreciated that numerous other modifications and variations may be eifected Within the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts and principles of this invention, and without departing therefrom.

It is, of course, intended to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of aligning a stack of uniform items including the steps of placing the stack on a moving conveyor, moving the stack between side aligning means, oscillating the side aligning means relative to the sides of the stack to align the sides, moving the stack into position between end aligning means and aligning the ends of the stack, compressing the stack to remove the air from between adjacent items in the stack, moving the stack into position to be tied into a bundle, and wrapping a ligature around the stack to tie the items together.

2. The method of forming a uniform bundle from a stack of articles being moved through a series of stations, the steps of the method including moving the stack into a first station where the sides of the stack are aligned, transporting the bundle to a second station where the ends of the article stack are aligned between a gate and pusher member, compressing the end of the stack adjacent the gate to expunge the air therefrom, moving the stack into a tying mechanism, clamping the stack within the tying mechanism, and disposing a ligature around the article stack and tying it in place to form a tight bundle.

3. The method of forming a plurality of partially laigned papers into a uniform bundle comprising the steps of moving a stack of papers into position between side aligning members, oscillating the side aligning members into and out of engagement with the sides of the stack,

moving the stack against a stop and aligning the ends of the stack by pushing against the end of the bundle toward the stop, compressing the leading edge of the paper stack to force out the air between the papers, contacting the sides of the stack and moving it forward into a tying mechanism and against a stop for preventing spilling of the papers, clamping the papers in position relative to the tying mechanism, directing a first ligature and tying it about the stack to form a bundle, releasing the clamping means and moving the bundle forward less than the remaining longitudinal length of the bundle, clamping the bundle and disposing a second ligature in place about the bundle longitudinally spaced from said first ligature and tying same relative thereto.

4. The method of forming newspapers into uniform bundles including the steps of placing a group of newspapers on a moving conveyor, moving the papers into position between a side aligning mechanism, aligning the sides of the stack of papers, placing a bottom wrapper under the stack of papers, aligning the ends of the bundle, compressing the stack of papers to remove the air from between adjacent papers, moving the bundle into a tying mechanism, and tying a ligature about the papers to form a bundle.

5. A method of bundling newspapers including the conveying of a stack of papers through a series of stations, including a first station where side aligner plates are oscillated against the sides of the stack to square up the sides thereof, moving the bundle to a second station where the ends of the stack are aligned and the bundle is compressed, contacting the sides of the stack of papers and moving same into a wire typing mechanism, moving clamping means into engagement with the stack to retain it in place relative to the tier and simultaneously moving said side contacting means out of engagement therewith, and tying the bundle by disposing a wire therearound, and twisting the overlapped ends of the wire to lock it in place.

6. The method of forming a plurality of partially aligned papers into a uniform bundle comprising the steps of moving a stack of papers into position between side aligning members, oscillating the side aligning members into and out of engagement with the sides of the stack, moving the stack against a stop and aligning the ends of the stack by pushing against the end of the bundle toward the stop, compressing the leading edge of the paper stack to expunge the air between the papers, contacting the sides of the stack and moving it forward into a tying mechanism and against a stop for preventing spilling of the papers, simultaneously clamping the papers in position relative to the tying mechanism, and moving the side contacting means out of engagement with the sides of the bundle, directing a first ligature and tying it about the stack to form a bundle, releasing the clamping means and simultaneously engaging the sides of the bundle to move it forward a short distance, clamping the bundle and disposing a second ligature in place about the bundle longitudinally spaced from said first ligature and tying same relative thereto.

7. The method of forming a uniform bundle from a stack of articles being moved through a series of stations, the steps of the method including moving the stack into a first station where the sides of the stack are aligned, moving the bundle to a second station at an increased speed where the ends of the article stack are aligned between a gate and pusher member and the pusher member prevents the papers from spilling off of said stack when the increased speed takes place, compressing the end of the stack adjacent the gate to force out the air from between the articles, moving the stack into a tying mechanism, clamping the stack within the tying mechanism, and disposing a ligature around the article stack and tying it in place to form a tight bundle.

8. A method of bundling newspapers including the conveying of a stack of papers through a series of stations, including a first station where side aligner plates are oscillated against the sides of the stack to square up the sides thereof, a second station where a bottom wrapper is automatically disposed below the papers, and a third' station where the ends of the stack are aligned and the bundle is compressed, contacting the sides of the stackof papers and moving 1 the stack ahfixed predetermined amount into a wire tying mechanism, moving clamping.

means into engagement with the stack to retain it in'place relative to the tying mechanism and simultaneously rea leasing the sides' thereof and tying the bundle by dispos-e ing a wire therearound, and twisting'the overlapped ends of the wire to lock it in place.

9 The method of forming a plurality of partially aligned newspapers into a uniform bundle comprising the steps of moving a stack of papers into a first station between side aligning members, oscillating the side align-- ing members into and out of engagement with the sides of the stack, movinglthe stack into a second station where a bottom wrapper is automatically disposed therebeneath, moving the stack against a stop to align the ends thereofby engaging the opposite end of the bundle and .a

ously unclamping the papers and engaging the sides of the.

bundle to move the bundle forwardsa short distance while.

retaining it within the tying 'mechanism, clamping the bundle and disposing asecondligature about the bundle securing the ligature in place about the bundle, and eject ing the bundle from'the wirevtying mechanism. I

U 19., The method, of aligning a stack of newspapers including placing a stack of papers on a moving conveyor and'moving it through a series of stations wherein the stack is aligned, a bottom wrapper is 'suppliedand a ligature is wrapped around the bundle and knotted to retain the newspapers in placecomprising the steps of moving the papers into a first station wherein they are contacted by oscillating side aligning members that align the sides of the stack, a secondstation where a bottom wrapper is automatically supplied beneath the stack of forwardly moving papers, a' third station where the ends of the stack are aligned by firstaccelerating the movement of the papers against a stop and engaging the rear end of the papers to force itagainst thelstop, compressing the leading edge of the paper stack at the third station to expunge the air therefrom, engagingthe sides of the stack to move it into a typing mechanism, clamping the top of the papers andsimultaneously disengaging the sides thereof to hold the stack in place within the tying mechanism, wrapping a ligature about the stack and tying it to secure the papers into a bundle, unclarnping the bundle'and ejecting the bundle from the tying mechanism.

a References Cited by the Examiner g UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,522,194 1/25 Labombarde. 2,636,654 4/53 Sykes 93 93 X 2,662,468 12/53 Shenigo. a r

2,684,626, 7/54 Eberle or. 100 4 2,722,417; .11/55 Nitchie 9336 x 3,085,501 4/63' Wimmer 100-4 W LIERAL SCHEEL Prirnary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF ALIGNING A STACK OF UNIFORM ITEMS INCLUDING THE STEPS OF PLACING THE STACK ON A MOVING CONVEYOR, MOVING THE STACK BETWEEN SIDE ALIGNING MEANS, OSCILLATING THE SIDE ALIGNING MEANS RELATIVE TO THE SIDES OF THE STACK TO ALIGN THE SIDES, MOVING THE STACK INTO POSITION BETWEEN END ALIGNING MEANS AND ALIGNING THE ENDS OF THE STACK, COMPRESSING THE STACK TO REMOVE THE AIR FROM BETWEEN ADJACENT ITEMS IN THE STACK, MOVING THE STACK INTO POSITION TO BE TIED INTO A BUNDLE, AND WRAPPING A LIGATURE AROUND THE STACK TO TIE THE ITEMS TOGETHER. 